Perhaps one of the most elementary and hindering mistakes we make in life is to assume a linear relationship between events and causes in life. The reality is that linearity is not the norm. The 80/20 rule is simply a byproduct of the power laws, logarithmic and exponential tendencies of many of life's happenings. In this post, I will explain 80/20 and how to leverage it in all areas of your life, because life is too short to be a chump.
Watch This
What is 80/20?
The 80/20 rule also known as the Pareto principle or the law of the vital few, is a principle that states that roughly 80% of results are generated from 20% of efforts.
It’s a distribution that was uncovered by an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto noticed that 80% of the land in Italy at the time was owned by 20% of the population. He also noticed the principle at work in his own garden! 20% of the pea pods contained 80% of the peas. This distribution has been proven multiple times in different sectors since its discovery.
The ratio is not always 80/20, it can be skewed all the way to 99/1 or even bigger ratios.The main idea is that a small number of critical causes tend to produce the biggest effects in almost all area in life. What is important is being able to identify these causes and leverage them to your benefit.
Examples of 80/20
In the video linked above, I go through 3 examples in real time, clearly showing the consistency of 80/20. The examples I use are The worlds GDP, the population of cities in Australia ( where I am from), and analytics on my own YouTube channel. ( make sure to check that out )
Some common examples often mentioned in the 80/20 discussion are how:
• 20% of criminals commit 80% of crimes ( Think of convicts that keep returning to prison )
• 20% of employees account for 80% of the companies success ( Just look at any sales team to see this in action)
• You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time (you dirty fucker, change your shirt)
• You walk on 20% of your carpet 80% of the time ( the walk from your bed to the fridge )
• You spend 80% of your time with only 20% of your friends
I must stress that the ratio isn’t always 80/20, but it’s almost always something skewed.
Why does 80/20 happen?
The 80/20 distribution happens because of the magic of feedback loops. Many people who have owned goldfish can attest to the following observation. You go to the pet store and buy 3 equal sized goldfish; a couple months roll by and the 3 goldfish are drastically different in size. Why is that? Well, naturally when you first fed the goldfish one might have been lucky enough to eat a bit more food than the others. This extra food allows the goldfish to grow slightly larger than the other goldfish giving it a slight advantage when it came to eating food. Over time this advantage gets larger and more obvious until the other goldfish can barely compete, and you are left with one big fat goldfish that just eats all the food the same way that your cousin David does at every family gathering the fat fucker.
Now replace the goldfish with Google or Microsoft and you can see how monopolies are formed. Other factors are involved of course, but this seems to be one of the primary reasons for the ratio.
How to leverage 80/20 Examples for the real world
Now that you know about the magic of 80/20, let’s go over ways that you can optimise your life using this simple principle. 80/20 is a mindset, being able to see through everything through this mindset will drastically improve your results in all avenues.
Fitness:
Two best friends decide to join the gym to build some juicy muscles and make the king of Iron Arnold proud. One of the boy’s trains 6 times a week and focuses on isolating each muscle with specialised movements. He does an hour of cardio after each workout in hopes of getting ripped. He works out for an average of 12 hours per week. He doesn’t worry too much about his diet, and has never counted his calories. The second boy takes a more minimalistic approach, he does full body workouts 3 times a week focusing on heavy compound exercises that stimulate his whole body. He does cardio only once a week and prefers to focus on high-intensity interval training such as hill sprints. He focuses on the diet keeping track of his daily macronutrient requirements. He only works out 4 hours per week. Who will achieve their goals faster? The second boy will. He will make more gains because he puts all his effort in the 20% of things that will result in 80% of the results. Instead of spending 12 hours in the gym like his friend, he stimulates his body effectively and gives it plenty of rest resulting in insane gains.
Work:
Jim works in a sales department. He spends most of his days performing small tasks that are delegated to him. he replies to every email and is quick to give anyone his time. Unfortunately, due to the workload, Jim only spends one hour of his day performing cold calls. He has been working hard for a couple of years doing everything his boss command, however, has been unable to create the results needed to be eligible for a promotion.
Ray works in the same sales department as Jim. He spends most of his time at work cold calling clients. He doesn’t reply to most of his email. When he uses email it’s only to deal with potential clients or critical tasks. Ray does not have time to chit-chat with co-workers. To him, if something is a non-critical task it can be delegated to someone else. Through his time spent on client acquisition, he has managed to secure 6 figure deals, making his boss very happy. Ray doesn’t complete half of the tasks in his job description but gets promotions regardless.
Ray is successful because of his understanding of the 80/20 rule. Jim is not successful because he treats all tasks with equal weighting.
Relationships:
You are divorced from your wife and can only spend one day out of the week with you Son, what do you do? Is it better to watch TV with him for a couple of hours or to go outside and do something? Think about this, we forget probably around 99% of our lives. The day to day shenanigans quickly disappears into the ether. Don’t believe me? Can you remember what you did throughout one whole day a month ago? No, we only remember things of significance such going away on that trip, or your sister’s wedding. Now back to your son, if your goal is to optimize your relationship with him, you are probably better off going fishing with him or shooting a few hops at the park. These things are will be the 20% that equals 80% of the memories he remembers with you.
Education:
I remember having a project management class for my engineering degree. Our assignment was to do a presentation in front of the whole class. A couple of my friends spent weeks and hours researching for the assignment. Come due day, all they presented was a dense and boring death by powerpoint slide.
I was to present the week after, I decided to take a different approach and look at the criteria of the assignment. I noticed that presentation skills such as eye contact, and vocal tonality scored high. I also remembered the professor telling us that our slides should be simple. So, my team and I decided to focus on simple and entertaining slides that got to the point quicker. We didn’t use palm cards and remembered our speeches making them far more engaging. A total of 8 hours was spent on the presentation and we received the highest mark in the class.
80/20 everything
To maximize your efficiency in life you must always be looking for the 20% that will give you 80% of the results. When you find these double down on them, make them your primary focus. As Tim Ferriss suggests, always ask yourself
‘what is the one thing that I can do that will make everything else irrelevant’, It might be cold calling new customers It might be eliminating soda drinks from your diet. Make it your mission in life to always look for these 20%, those motherfuckers are the true game changers.
[–]Sum_of_all_beers264 points265 points266 points (7 children) | Copy
[–]PaulAJK24 points25 points26 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 14 points15 points16 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]zigsquig 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–]Sum_of_all_beers1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]Urishima0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Mefic_vest495 points496 points497 points (5 children) | Copy
[–]test0314150 points151 points152 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]Redewedit58 points59 points60 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]Monopolicious7 points8 points9 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Persaeus7 points8 points9 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]Urishima0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Atolla2131 points132 points133 points (9 children) | Copy
[–]LanBearPig41 points42 points43 points (7 children) | Copy
[–]CQC353 points54 points55 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]-kindakrazy-7 points8 points9 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]jaytrident43 points44 points45 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]VanSeslas20 points21 points22 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Vicimin10-1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy
[–]JohnnySixguns2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]iamanalterror_0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 128 points129 points130 points (10 children) | Copy
[–]kkri317 points18 points19 points (1 child) | Copy
[–][deleted] 15 points16 points17 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]notastupid_question6 points7 points8 points (4 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]RealHedgeFund 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–][deleted] 4 points5 points6 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]morecreamfraiche0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]serioussiracha16 points17 points18 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]mnemos_145 points46 points47 points (2 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 20 points21 points22 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 4 points5 points6 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]cazzah12332 points33 points34 points (6 children) | Copy
[–]Spets8719 points20 points21 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]cazzah12321 points22 points23 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]suaressi22 points23 points24 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]AwakenedSovereign6 points7 points8 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 29 points30 points31 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]saint_pill7 points8 points9 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]ImHerWonderland8 points9 points10 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]2mental_models3 points4 points5 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]AboutNinthAccount64 points65 points66 points (13 children) | Copy
[–]eccentricrealist30 points31 points32 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]Andgelyo12 points13 points14 points (0 children) | Copy
[+]growinglatscomment score below threshold-15 points-14 points-13 points (10 children) | Copy
[–]Xanforth20 points21 points22 points (5 children) | Copy
[+]growinglatscomment score below threshold-6 points-5 points-4 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie0 points1 point2 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]growinglats-1 points0 points1 point (1 child) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]sehns 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–]growinglats0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]mcs0070 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]light_a_man_a_fire 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–]Toussant-4 points-3 points-2 points (8 children) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie2 points3 points4 points (6 children) | Copy
[–]Senior Contributordr_warlock3 points4 points5 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]noah6624 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–]TheSecondRunPs10 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]BornShook5 points6 points7 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Wardenclyffe19174 points5 points6 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 7 points8 points9 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]PragmaticProfessor19 points20 points21 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]JackDallas11 points12 points13 points (1 child) | Copy
[–][deleted] 7 points8 points9 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]FinancialMagus4 points5 points6 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]mismm3 points4 points5 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]redblueninja 1 points1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy
[–]contrarionargument11 points12 points13 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 4 points5 points6 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]ArielBro11 points12 points13 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]MrCarepig10 points11 points12 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 6 points7 points8 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]fromthecrypt82 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 4 points5 points6 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]fdahda1231 point2 points3 points (3 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]supernaturalsecrets0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Merwebb4 points5 points6 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 12 points13 points14 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 14 points15 points16 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]TRP VanguardWhisper31 points32 points33 points (2 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 9 points10 points11 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]Legtats1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]DigitalDog00011 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]47Jrivers475 points6 points7 points (5 children) | Copy
[–]marklf21 points22 points23 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]47Jrivers47-1 points0 points1 point (2 children) | Copy
[–]TheBattleshipYamato19 points20 points21 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]bedoef5 points6 points7 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 11 points12 points13 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]BaronVonKlotz2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]elbey10 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]rayheartworld0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]RedPilledGodEmperor0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]howdoistopobsessing0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]johndoemaga0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]shipintbrief0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]saito200-1 points0 points1 point (1 child) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]sepelion0 points1 point2 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]jaytrident2 points3 points4 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie-1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy
[–]eccentricrealist0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]ItzFizzy10 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]The_Noble_Lie2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy
[+][deleted] comment score below threshold-17 points-16 points-15 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]TRP VanguardWhisper11 points12 points13 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]ganstett2 points3 points4 points (2 children) | Copy
[–][deleted] -5 points-4 points-3 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]ganstett-1 points0 points1 point (0 children) | Copy
[–]Andgelyo-4 points-3 points-2 points (4 children) | Copy
[–]ProspectDikadu0 points1 point2 points (3 children) | Copy
[–]Andgelyo4 points5 points6 points (2 children) | Copy
[–]ProspectDikadu-1 points0 points1 point (1 child) | Copy
[–]Andgelyo1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]billpaw1970-1 points0 points1 point (1 child) | Copy
[–]d4ng3rz0n30 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]uebermacht-2 points-1 points0 points (0 children) | Copy
[–]APSTNDPhy-3 points-2 points-1 points (1 child) | Copy
[–]2Joeycrackem[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy